Monday, January 16, 2012

The Week That Was

Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier injured his hamstring in the Australian Baseball League and missed Canberra's five-game series against Perth, which wrapped up earlier today. The Cavalry only have five games left in the regular season, finishing up next Sunday. No word yet if Kiermaier will be able to play in any more games. He has hit .347/.407/.429 in 49 at-bats so far.

Teammate Mark Thomas has caught fire since the calendar turned, hitting .333/.389/.576 in eight ABL games in 2012. In addition to the five remaining regular-season games, Thomas may see action in the ABL playoffs. The Cavalry are currently in a three-way tie for 3rd place, 12 games behind Perth, but only a game out of second. The top four finishers will make the ABL playoffs.

The ABL is backed by Major League Baseball, which has agreed to support the first five seasons of the league, but the sight of empty rows of seats is not encouraging for the team. Despite boasting 685 season ticket-holders, Balfour revealed average membership attendance at games was just 211. Some 83 members have yet to attend their first game of the season.

The 'Balfour' mentioned above is Sydney Blue Sox general manager David Balfour, father of ex-Rays reliever Grant. This is the Rays first year participating in the ABL, sending Kiermaier, Thomas, Ty Morrison and Todd Glaesmann to each play in part of the ABL season with Canberra.

The Rays have re-signed minor league free agent RHP Richard De Los Santos, who has been in the organization since 2005. He was limited to two April starts for Durham last season due to injury. Here are his career stats:

Speaking of Dan Johnson, Joe Christensen had a nice article on Johnson's search for a new team and some of the obstacles he's overcome in his career:

A former hockey player at Blaine High School, he blossomed into an elite power hitter at Nebraska. The Oakland Athletics drafted him in the seventh round in 2001, and made him their starting first baseman in 2005, replacing Scott Hatteberg of "Moneyball" fame.

But after a promising rookie season, Johnson's luck completely changed. On the last day of spring training in 2006, Johnson went to spray sunscreen on his arm and accidentally shot it into his right eye. He had trouble seeing breaking pitches all year, and it wasn't until the season ended that he was diagnosed with double vision.

The next spring, after months of vision therapy, Johnson could see clearly again. But one day, he went to throw the ball around the horn after a double play, and the runner charging down the first baseline clipped his leg, tearing Johnson's hip labrum.

The Montgomery Biscuits and the City of Montgomery will hold a press conference on Wednesday at 5 p.m. regarding the new scoreboard. Speakers will include Mayor Todd Strange and Biscuits Co-Owner Sherrie Myers. It will be at Riverwalk Stadium’s Club Car Bar. The public is invited (enter through the RF gate) and complimentary beverages and ballpark popcorn will be served.

The Princeton Rays have announced the start times for their 2012 home games: Monday-Saturday games at 7:05 p.m. except doubleheaders which begin at 5:30 p.m.; all Sunday games at 3:00 p.m.; and July 24th will be at 11:00 a.m.

The Rays Winter Development Program was last week at the Trop. Bill Chastain spoke to some of the 28 minor leaguers in attendance, including shortstop Derek Dietrich:

"You're treated like a big leaguer for a week as far as where you stay, when you wake up, the breakfasts, the meals," Dietrich said. "The workouts are first class, on the field and in the weight room, with all the coordinators and staff in this organization. It's a great opportunity for me and the others to see the instructors and for them to see us and for them to see how our progress is during the offseason. We're away for four months and everyone is working at becoming a better player for the team, and it's valuable for them to be able to see our progress and see what we need to do."

There were a couple of Rays-related prospect Q & A's at milb.com last week. Ashley Marshall interviewed shortstop Tim Beckham:

MiLB.com: How would you say you handled yourself at the higher levels and in the Arizona Fall League?

Beckham: I feel like I handled it pretty well and I feel like I handled my own. I did pretty well and I'm happy. I actually got a leg kick this year, so I worked on that. I just tried to take advantage of the hitter's counts as far as 0-0 or 2-0 or 3-1 and counts like that. What I changed the most was that I was a lot more aggressive on hitters' counts this year than what I was in the past.

Chris Archer: At the beginning of the season, I think I was trying to do too much and got out of character. I was trying to make too many perfect pitches instead of letting my stuff just play in the strike zone. I was trying to make perfect pitches like a back-door slider and when you try to become too fine in this game you make little misses. I just said, "I'll go back to being myself."

Former Hudson Valley Renegades general manager (1999-2003) Steve Glinerhas been named President of the Fort Myers Miracle by the Goldklang Group, which owns both teams.

John Lembo spoke with 2011 2nd round pick Granden Goetzman about the transition from high school to professional baseball:

Goetzman batted .173 in 25 games last summer for the GCL Rays. And while a groin injury he suffered during one of his first days with the team didn’t help, Goetzman said most of his problems were mental rather than physical.

“My average wasn’t too hot, but I was swinging at bad pitches, pitches I shouldn’t be swinging at,” Goetzman said. “This year, I’ll be comfortable and swinging at strikes and at pitches I can handle...Just be myself.”

The Rays signed controversial free agent outfielder Luke Scott to a $5 million one-year contract. The deal includes a $6 million option for 2013 or a $1 million buyout. His career numbers in the majors:

In order to make room on the 40-man roster for Scott, the Rays designated catcher Nevin Ashley for assignment. As a DFA, if no other team claims him for a 40-man roster spot after ten days, the Rays can outright him back to the minor leagues.

I'm not sure how many teams have openings on their 40-man rosters, but of those who do I would be surprised if any decide to add Ashley. He hasn't spent much time at AAA yet, and in his 39 AAA games he's only hit .208/.259/.304 in 125 at-bats. Assuming no other teams claim him, Ashley will remain an important part of the Rays organization, with only Jose Molina, Jose Lobaton, and Robinson Chirinos ahead of him on the catching depth chart. Here are his career numbers:

And finally, while we wait for news on Ashley, make sure to visit his wife's photography website. She even has a small section dedicated to baseball, which includes a nice shot of the top prospect in baseball during his time with the Biscuits. If you're in the Evansville area and need a photographer give her a call, she does nice work at very reasonable rates.

Looking at your list of players that still haven't been signed, John Matulia is hitting .323 down in the Dominican right now, which many could argue is more competitive baseball than AAA. Why not bring him back to Durham?

Ashley cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Durham, as expected. Good news for everyone involved.

Agree on Matulia, he's always flown under the radar and other than last year he's put up decent numbers. And I think we forget how young he is, still only 25. Drafted in 10th round in 2005. I would like to see him re-signed for depth at AA and AAA, see if he can bounce back.